Awicha — Restaurant in Lima Metropolitan Area

I got convinced at the entrance door by a charming waiter that this place was fusion, french Peruvian and Thai Peruvian. However, Inside the menu was a lot of dishes from Spain, and one dish with a incredient saying "coco" (coconout), but they didnt mention in any moment the word curry, so I had my doubts.

At the end, we decided to give it a try to the ceviche and "ceviche de pato".

So here is my review: (From a Picky Foodie Professional Peruvian)

Food:

It is really bad when the price (starter ceviche 60 soles) does not match the quality, I have to accept that the ingredients were fresh and decent in general, but too tasteless. It was such a boring flavor, who is your chef? About flavor: this ceviche was even worse than altokepez (Netflix). A white chinese rice without salt and garlic is more delicious. I just couldnt believe it!

The "Ceviche de pato" was ok. However, it was less than ok since this dish just rescue my palate from the previous nightmare.

We ordered water, it had no gas, or well, very little, soft, like when you ask for a deep tissue massage, and you get a touching tender therapy.

I ordered salt and spicy, "spicy" was sweet, kind of a ketchup with barbecue with some dash of pepper. Then came another spicy, it was a bit better, kind of innovative, but far away from Peru. Ah! Ok, this is fusion...

Service

Service was good, but they had no idea about Peru. Maybe they are not peruvians, or they just don't care, or they are a diplomatic bridge between the lackness of taste show of this vibrant bohemia neighborhood of Barranco without Barranco people, and the gringo clients.

Atmosphere

For the price, it was terrible that the table was moving. And the music was not good, especially when they played "Grease" on a beautiful street, and a restaurant that match better with jazz or bossanova. Totally out of context.

We were 1 spanish, 1 american/mexican, and 1 peruvian (me).

Nice name, "Awicha", but good...

What are you looking for when you eat in another country? We want to be inspired by the flavors, technique, herbal combination and use of local fair. Awicha accomplished all that and then said hold my beer! Peru is a land of 4000 potatoes many of which were engineered by the Incas, a fascinating story in its own right. Our first dish was a celebration of the local tubers and did not fail to impress. We enjoyed a duck and a shrimp dish. Both were excellent, full of flavor and a great representation of all that is Peru. Daniel, our server was inviting and encouraged us to go outside our comfort zone… and we did. My husband is not a fan of shrimp….. until he arrived in coastal Peru. The freshness and flavor, he has not experienced anywhere else and in all honesty more than half his meals in Peru were based on shrimp. He could not bring himself to try guinea pig, perhaps next trip but the other Peruvian surprise is duck! The menu had a number of duck dishes which I love. Daniel recommended a favorite with yuca and rice. The duck fell off the bone and was enveloped by the fantastic sauce. The yuca and rice balanced the dish perfectly. All in all a great meal. Thanks to the Globe and Mail for pointing us in this direction! Put Peru on your map, you will not be disappointed. We will take much of what we experienced back to Maine and experiment with our tubers and seafood. Thank you Peru …...

A hidden gem located in the trendy Barronco District of Lima. Near the fancy world renowned restaurants like Central and Isolina Taberna Peruana this recently opened restaurant was one of the highlights of our culinary experience in Peru. Coming from the foody city of San Francisco I can say beyond reason that the flavors here surpassed our expectations. We ordered the Duck Cerviche, duck breast, handmade spaghetti, and lamb stew all of which were well seasoned and delicious. Some of the dishes are marinated for 30-48 hours! The duck creviche was probably one of the best duck plates I have ever eaten! The chocolate brownie for desert was also flavorful. The chef who is also the owner came out to our table to take our order and describe his recipes. We learned that he hails from the north of Peru and that “Awicha” in Quechua means “grandmother”. The name he chose to pay homage to his grandmother who was the inspiration behind many of the dishes including some of which were from her own traditional recipes. If you appreciate authentic home cooked food from a Peruvian chef truly dedicated to his art and tradition don’t miss out on this...